TWRI grant recipient developing 3-D model for Corpus Christi Bay
By Kari Miller
Texas A&M University international graduate student Mohammad Shahidul Islam is working with his advising professor Dr. James Bonner from the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering to develop the Coastal Margin Observation and Assessment System (CMOAS) to monitor water quality in the Corpus Christi Bay.
“The CMOAS is conceptualized as an environmental observatory that can supply surface current maps, vertical profiles of currents, meteorological observations and other real-time chemical and biological measurements within the water column,” said Islam, who received a $5,000 2006-2007 Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) research grant.
Islam, originally from Bangladesh, found that in Corpus Christi Bay the water unexpectedly becomes stratified in the summer, which causes hypoxia, a condition where the concentration of dissolved oxygen in water gets too low and aquatic life cannot survive. In his final report, Islam explained that the spatial extent, frequency and duration of hypoxia determine the level of disturbance it causes to the ecosystem. Some factors that may contribute to this condition are eutrophication, water column stratification, geomorphology of the bay, meteorology and too much nutrient release from human altered watersheds.
He also found that Corpus Christi Bay is a bi-directional system; wind forces move the water in one direction and tidal forces move the water in the opposite direction. Thus, a three-dimensional model is necessary to accurately capture the dynamics of the bay.
“Integrating model with observation system will help in understanding the dynamics of the bay,” said Islam. “Understanding the processes that control hypoxia will help to take steps in managing the watersheds and thereby improving water quality. It will also help the fishing industries, recreation facilities and tourism industries to develop their operation strategies.”
Islam said in the future he would like to become a faculty member at a renowned university and continue to do research on coastal environments.
His research was funded by TWRI through the U.S. Geological Survey as part of the National Institutes for Water Research annual research program. TWRI is the designated institute for water resources research in Texas.
For more information on Islam’s research, visit USGS Research Grants.